Status check!

I have a 1^st grader and a 3^rd grader and let me tell you; it is work! Gone are the days of building gingerbread houses and CAT tests. Now, elementary school students have real homework and real projects.  Sometimes, I find myself questioning my intelligence based on what they are doing. Well, at a certain point every semester or year, the teacher sends home something vital…the progress report. You were probably expecting me to say the report card, right?  Both are used for evaluating how a student has performed, but the Lord showed me something about the power of a progress report today.  You see, the report card shows the student's final grade in a class, but the progress report allows the teacher to track how a student is doing throughout the class. The Lord gave me a question to ask you; and it is simple. How are you doing on your assignment?   

Every progress report gives you some rubric or scale so that you know how you are doing and whether you need to improve or continue the same trend. Well, the Lord sent me to 1 Peter 4:10-11 so that you can check your progress. It says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”(NLT) How do you line up with that scale? Are you on track to pass the test or have you missed some study sessions? Have you been using your gifts or has fear, doubt, or people, kept you silent? Have you been giving your assignment your full strength and energy or have you been half-heartedly doing it in hopes that someone else would pick up the slack? How would your progress report look? How would the Lord grade your effort?

It’s time to refocus, folks. It’s time to hunker down and make sure the assignments and ideas that God has given you are being completed. Paul reminded the church at Philippi that nothing less than full commitment would do if they wanted to reach their goal. What about you? “So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.” (Philippians 3:15-16, MSG) Woman of God, is God’s being pleased with your obedience enough to push you forward? Man of God, is being in line with God's plan and purpose for your life all that it takes to answer the call? I would hope so!  However, for some reason, the Lord felt that His people needed to be reminded to stay on track. You see, He wants you to get to the finish line. He has seen the end of your journey, and He is ready to celebrate with you.  He is paying attention to your progress. He wants to see your trustworthiness and your obedience, and so He can honor it with elevation and promotion. Check your progress report, saints! It will pay off on your final grade!

Amen